Okay, honest moment — I almost led this issue with something safe. A round-up of "top AI tools for IDs" and a cheerful stat about engagement rates. You've seen that newsletter. We've all seen that newsletter.
Instead, I want to talk about something that's been nagging at me for weeks. We're in the middle of a genuine identity shift in this field. The skills gap — the one L&D has been "closing" for three years — isn't closing. It's changing shape underneath us. And a lot of our design practice hasn't caught up yet.
That's the thread running through this issue. We've got some real talk on microlearning (most of it is done wrong, and yes, I'm including things I built two years ago), a genuinely sharp read on what it means to design learning when AI is making half the decisions, and a tools section for people who are actually curious — not just collecting browser tabs.
Grab a chai. Let's get into it.
The skills gap isn't getting smaller. It's getting sneakier.
Here's the headline everyone is sharing: the skills gap is shrinking. In 2025, 42% of HR managers said their organisation was grappling with one — down from 51% in 2022. Progress! Champagne!
Except — look closer. Because what's actually happening is that the kind of gap is changing. We've made real progress on digital literacy. But as AI automates more of the technical, repeatable stuff, what's surfacing underneath is a much harder problem: shortages in judgment, adaptability, and the ability to make good decisions under pressure. LinkedIn's latest data found 91% of L&D professionals agree that human skills are increasingly important. Forbes has listed emotional intelligence as a top-five in-demand skill for 2026.
What does this mean practically, for us? It means designing learning that builds judgment, not just knowledge. That's scenario-based, practice-first, outcome-linked work — not another awareness module. The organisations winning at L&D right now aren't producing more content. They're producing fewer, sharper experiences that actually change what people do on Tuesday morning.
That's not a tools problem. That's a design philosophy problem. And it's ours to solve.
Read the full TalentLMS 2026 L&D ReportWe've been doing microlearning wrong. Here's what it actually looks like.
Most microlearning is just a long course wearing a shorter coat. The eLearning Industry's 2026 blueprint makes a distinction that is genuinely useful: microlearning isn't a content format, it's a performance strategy. The unit of design isn't "a topic." It's "a task."
Read the Blueprint · eLearning Industry"Learning in the flow of work" has finally stopped being a slide deck idea.
43% of employers say the pace of work has accelerated the demand for new skills. The gap between "training happened" and "capability exists" is mostly a timing problem. Are we building resources people can pull, or content they have to sit through?
Read on Cornerstone On DemandAI generates answers in seconds. It can't generate meaning. That's our job now.
The actual challenge in 2026 is designing learning that helps people think better alongside AI — building judgment about when to trust an output, how to prioritise when the system gives ten plausible options, and who owns the decision when a recommendation comes from an algorithm.
Read on eLearning IndustrySix tools. Real use cases.
No sponsored placements.
These are tools community members are actually using — not everything works for everyone.
The fastest path from document to deployed eLearning. Upload content, co-design with AI through interactive storyboards, publish. Best for: rapid prototyping, SME-driven content, tight timelines.
Free TierStill the industry default. The 2026 Rise update (AI outline builder + generative image suggestions) is genuinely useful. Storyline remains the best for complex branching.
ProText-to-avatar video, multilingual out of the box, SCORM export available. 2026 research puts content creation at 140x faster than traditional video. Best for: video-heavy programmes, global teams.
AI-PoweredDrop in a PDF, URL, or document — it generates a full SCORM-compliant course with quizzes and interactions. Supports 100+ languages. Best for: SME-generated content at scale.
Free TierThe peer-driven model is genuinely different — SMEs co-author content without needing design skills. 2026 AI layer auto-drafts from uploaded documents. Best for: orgs where knowledge lives with people.
AI-PoweredIf your SMEs live in PowerPoint and will never leave, this is the most realistic path to good eLearning. AI translation in 70+ languages, natural voice TTS. Best for: enterprise teams with non-designer authors.
ProPeople rarely struggle because they don't know enough. They struggle because they don't know what to prioritise, how to decide under pressure, or when to trust information and when to question it. That is not a technology gap. It is a learning design gap.
Thirst's 12 Biggest L&D Challenges of 2026 — dense, data-grounded, and genuinely useful
I don't recommend long reports lightly. This one earns it. Thirst's March 2026 breakdown gets specific about where things are actually breaking down. The finding that stuck with me: organisations have invested heavily in content but dramatically under-invested in the conditions that make content usable — manager support, psychological safety, time and permission to apply learning. We keep building libraries. People keep not opening them.
If you're designing programs at an organisational level — or trying to make the case internally for a different kind of L&D investment — this report gives you language and numbers that land with non-L&D stakeholders.
Read the Report on ThirstIntroducing the LXD Marketplace —
where learning meets real opportunity
We've been talking about the gap between learning and actual capability. The LXD Marketplace is our attempt to close that loop — not with more content, but with better signals.
Not another platform to host learning — but a system designed to understand and surface real capability.
Designed around decisions and real tasks — not just recall-based questions.
Outputs that show where someone stands — strengths, gaps, and readiness.
A connected journey from learning → assessment → real-world application.
Opportunities aligned to demonstrated capability — not just profiles or resumes.
This isn't just a job board. It's a system designed to answer a harder question: what can someone actually do on a Tuesday morning?
We're actively testing and refining the experience — if you're exploring roles, hiring, or simply curious about where this goes next, we'd love you to take a look.
Explore the LXD MarketplaceRight now, in your actual day-to-day work — what's the hardest thing to get right?
Click one option to see what the community says so far.
Community Response
Here’s what the community is saying so far.
The LXD Marketplace opens its doors in May — connecting L&D professionals with real opportunities matched to demonstrated capability, not just resumes. Be among the first to explore it.
Guild members get first access before the wider launch. Whether you're hiring, exploring roles, or simply curious about where this is heading — early access is your way in.
Structured assessments designed around decisions and real L&D tasks — not multiple-choice recall. Complete one and you'll have a signal that actually says something meaningful about your work.
The next CLXD cohort begins in May. Designed for practitioners who want to move from content creation to intentional learning experience design — with a Marketplace-ready credential at the end.